Tina Andrews facts for kids

Tina Andrews is an American actress, producer, writer, and author. She is known for her roles in TV shows like Days of Our Lives and Roots. Tina Andrews also wrote the TV miniseries Sally Hemings: An American Scandal. This show was important because it was the first time the story of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings was shown on TV. In 2001, Tina made history as the first African American to win a Writers Guild of America award for her writing on this miniseries.

About Tina Andrews

Her Early Life and School

Tina Andrews grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was one of two children. Tina went to Harlan Community Academy High School. There, she enjoyed Modern Dance, Student Council, and the Drama Club. After finishing high school in 1969, Tina studied Drama at New York University.

Her Career in Entertainment

Acting Roles

Tina Andrews spent many years acting in TV shows. She played Valerie Grant on Days of Our Lives from 1975 to 1977. Her character was part of the first romance between people of different races shown on daytime TV. After that, Tina played Angie Wheeler in The Sanford Arms.

She also acted in the TV miniseries Roots in 1977. She played Aurelia, who was a friend of the character Kunta Kinte. Because of this role, she met Alex Haley, who wrote the book Roots. Haley later hired Tina to work with him on another miniseries.

Tina also appeared as Valerie on Falcon Crest in 1983. She played Josie in the TV movie Born Innocent. Tina was a guest star on many popular shows. These included The Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, Good Times, and The Brady Bunch. She also acted in movies like Conrack and Carny.

Writing for TV and Movies

Tina Andrews was very interested in the story of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. She wrote a play called The Mistress of Monticello. It was performed in Chicago in 1985 and received good reviews. About 10 years later, Craig Anderson helped Tina turn her play into a TV script.

Tina worked on the Hemings project for almost 16 years. During this time, a DNA study in 1998 showed a connection between the families of Hemings and Jefferson. This new information helped historians understand their relationship better. Tina finished her script, and it became the TV miniseries Sally Hemings: An American Scandal. It aired on CBS in 2000. Carmen Ejogo played Sally Hemings, and Sam Neill played Thomas Jefferson.

Andrews also wrote other screenplays, including the movie Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998). In 2019, Tina joined other writers in a stand by the Writers Guild of America against certain practices in the entertainment industry.

Her Books

After the miniseries aired in 2000, Tina Andrews wrote a non-fiction book. It was called Sally Hemings: An American Scandal: The Struggle to Tell the Controversial Truth (2001). The book shares her 16-year journey to bring Sally Hemings' story to a wider audience.

Tina also wrote an essay for a book called The First Time I Got Paid for It (2002). Her novel The Hollywood Dolls was published in 2009.

In 2010, Tina Andrews wrote Charlotte Sophia: Myth, Madness, and the Moor. This historical novel is about Charlotte of Mecklenburg, who was the wife of King George III of Great Britain. Tina explored a theory that Queen Charlotte had a Black ancestor. Tina later turned this novel into a play called Buckingham. A new edition of the book, Queen Charlotte Sophia: A Royal Affair, was released in 2023.

Awards and Recognitions

In 1999, Tina Andrews was nominated for Best Screenplay at the Acapulco Black Film Festival. This was for her movie Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

In 2001, Tina made history. She was the first African American to win the Writers Guild of America award for Original Long Form. This was for her script for the 2000 miniseries Sally Hemings: An American Scandal. That same year, she also won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding TV Movie, Miniseries or Special.

In 2002, Tina won two more awards for her book about the Hemings story. She received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Achievement in Literary Nonfiction. She also won the Literary Award of Excellence from the Memphis Black Writers Conference. In 2003, Tina won the MIB/Prism Filmmaker Image Award. She also received a special recognition from the City Council of New York.

Personal Life

Tina Andrews is married to Stephen Gaines, who is a theatre and documentary filmmaker.